(Cougar running back Trevor Burton races for a score Friday night against the Patriots.)
The Cougars started off strong Friday night, but a combination of big plays and were eventually too much as the Patrick Henry Patriots left Kenneth J. Dobson Stadium with a 56-27 win.
“We had some good moments, but those last two minutes of the first half just put us in a hole,” Cougar Head Coach Cam Akers said. “We’re missing some pieces right now, but our guys went out there and played hard. Their effort was solid, we just couldn’t keep up at times.”
Pulaski County kept pace with the talented Patrick Henry Patriots through the first half, scoring on their opening drive on a 47-yard run by junior Tyler Underwood with 10:57 remaining in the opening quarter. Nathan Pratt hit the point after to give the Cougars the 7-0 lead.
Patrick Henry answered, scoring on a 15-yard pass with 8:26 remaining in the first quarter. The PAT tied the game at 7-7. Then the Patriots got the ball back and scored on a 13-yard run with 5:19 remaining in the second quarter. The PAT failed, leaving them up 13-7.
The Cougars continued to press the issue. After a long and sustained drive, senior Trevor Burton crossed the goal line from two yards out with 2:50 remaining in the half. Pratt hit the PAT to give the Cougars the 14-13 lead.
Then disaster struck. Patrick Henry scored twice in the final two and a half minutes. The first was on a 55-yard pass with a two-point conversion. The second was a 28-yard pass and PAT. That left the Patriots up 28-14 with 1:27 still on the first half clock. To make matters worse, the Cougars kicked off to the Patriots to open the second half and allowed another score. This time a five-yard run got the job done with 10:55 remaining in the third. After the PAT, the Patriot lead was up to 35-14.
The Patriots scored again in the third quarter, this time on a 67-yard pass with 7:26 remaining. Down 42-14, the Cougars could have given up, but they kept working.
With 1:08 remaining in the third, junior quarterback Chris Gallimore found sophomore Tanner Mace open in the corner of the endzone for a 19-yard scoring strike. The PAT was blocked, leaving the score at 42-20 for the Patriots.
Patrick Henry again answered, this time immediately with an 82-yard kickoff return. The kick made it 49-20.
The Cougars put together another long drive, with Burton crossing the goal line from five yards out with 6:18 remaining in the fourth quarter. Pratt hit the PAT to move the score to 49-27.
Patrick Henry added one more score on an 18-yard run with 2:56 remaining in the game. The PAT made the final score 56-27 for Patrick Henry.
Offensively, the Cougars held their own. Pulaski County earned 17 first downs. Patrick Henry had 18. The Cougars ran the ball 55 times for 289 yards. Patrick Henry ran 26 times for 213 yards. The Cougars completed six-of-10 pass attempts for 72 yards. Patrick Henry completed 10-of-16 pass attempts for 259 yards. The Cougars finished the night with 361 yards of offense. The Patriots had 472 yards.
The Cougars were hit with three penalties for 15 yards. The Patriots had five penalties for 34 yards. The Cougars fumbled the ball four times, losing two.
Individually, Burton finished the night with 28 carries for 198 yards and two scores. Gallimore had five carries for 25 yards and completed six-of-10 pass attempts for 72 yards. Underwood had five carries for 53 yards and a score. Mace had five carries for 13 yards and caught three passes for 47 yards and a score. Davis Neel caught two passes for 21 yards. Trevor Lawrence caught one pass for four yards.
With the loss, the Cougars fall to 4-5 on the season. Pulaski County will travel to Christiansburg next week for the final game of the regular season against the Blue Demons.
In other games around the area, Christiansburg defeated Cave Spring 24-14. George Wythe defeated Grayson County 27-22. Graham defeated Blacksburg 56-7. Holston defeated Rural Retreat 20-10. Galax defeated West Stokes 35-7. Tazewell defeated Fort Chiswell 48-13.
In a big game, Glenvar defeated Radford 37-34. Salem defeated Hidden Valley 55-3. William Byrd defeated Staunton River 28-27. Alleghany County defeated Floyd County 28-6.